Medical students unlikely to repay student debts during working life

The average UK medical graduate is unlikely to ever fully repay large debts incurred whilst studying, which could affect recruitment, researchers have claimed.

A new analysis of salary data which looked at actual income of doctors, posed against record-high tuition fees and living costs, also showed that females were even less likely to ever be able to repay debts because they earn less per hour than male counterparts.

The researchers concluded such debts could lead to students opting for other careers, or looking to study abroad.

The findings, published in BMJ Open, contradict National Audit Office (NAO) calculations predicting most doctors can pay off £71,000 debts within 25 years.